


Of Spiders and other Creepy Crawlies

by Mandalorianess



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: F/M, Pre-Relationship, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:49:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25826197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mandalorianess/pseuds/Mandalorianess
Summary: She didn’t quite know how to interpret what she was seeing. Din stood there in the middle of the small corridor between their bunks staring wide-eyed in sheer panic at the wall of his bunk. He was only wearing boxer shorts and his helmet, which wasn’t even positioned properly. If it wasn’t for his obvious distress she probably would have laughed at this picture.
Relationships: Cara Dune/The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 66





	Of Spiders and other Creepy Crawlies

**Author's Note:**

> A big thank you to wolfy22 again for proofreading this one-shot <3

A heartbreaking scream ripped her out of her sleep, it took her short second of realization before she sat up on her bed abruptly – _Din._

She was at his bunk in no time, there must be something really wrong. She had never heard him scream like this, not even after his occasional nightmares.

She didn’t quite know how to interpret what she was seeing. Din stood there in the middle of the small corridor between their bunks staring wide-eyed in sheer panic at the wall of his bunk. He was only wearing boxer shorts and his helmet, which wasn’t even positioned properly. If it wasn’t for his obvious distress she probably would have laughed at this picture.

“Din, are you okay?” She asked him, wondering what could possibly be the reason for his horror. When he wasn’t reacting to her words, she carefully tapped his shoulder, causing him to flinch. 

“It… It was there on this wall and now it's hiding somewhere in my bunk” he stammered, still staring at the wall. 

“It?” she demanded further description of the seemingly dangerous something that was now hiding somewhere. It couldn’t be that bad if it was small enough to hide in one of the Razor Crests crowded bunks, right?

“It shouldn’t be here, we are in the middle of hyperspace” He continued, ignoring her question again. She had never seen him this aghast, so she tried to take this seriously, even though she couldn’t spot anything dangerous. 

“I heard it rustling in the dark, and then, when I switched on the light it just ran away and I lost track of it”  
Cara wasn’t sure what to do with the little information he had given her, she had no idea what he was talking about.  
“Is it a small assassin droid or something like that?” she proposed, trying to make this easier for him.

“Worse, so much worse” his voice was shaking and if Cara didn’t know better, she would almost think he was sobbing out of his despair.  
A slowly creeping fear spreads in her, if Din was so afraid, and still not fighting what was hiding there, that meant there was nothing that could be done about whatever was happening here. 

She grabbed him by his shoulders, slightly shaking him “Come on, Din, talk to me. What is happening?” She tried to look into his eyes through his helmet.

“It’s big, like really big… and hairy…and I know it’s waiting in there for me to come back” he babbled, finally looking at her.

It took her a few moments until it began to dawn on her. A small laugh escaped her. Could it really be?

“Din, are you talking about a spider?” she asked cautiously but couldn’t totally keep out the amusement of her voice.

“So this is funny to you?” Cara instantly felt sorry when she heard the hurt in his words. It’s not like she wanted to make fun of him when it obviously really bothered him, but through the ridiculousness of this whole situation and the relief that there wasn’t some unstoppable dangerous thing on the ship, she couldn’t hold back a small giggle.

“Maybe a little bit” she admitted, giggling again.

His back still pressed against the wall behind him, he gave her a look that she was sure would have instantly killed her if he wasn’t wearing a helmet, but like this, it made the situation even more ridiculous.

“I’m sorry” she finally said, trying to take this seriously, even though it didn’t seem threatening to her, it scared the hell out of Din.

“I can try to catch the spider” she offered, slightly tilting her head.  
He simply kept staring at her and when she almost thought, he was ignoring her again he finally answered.

“Be careful” he demanded, his voice full of worry like she was going onto some really risky mission.

“I’ll try my best” she chuckled, grabbing one of her boots next to her bunk and the flashlight from her bedside table (they hadn’t managed to install a proper lamp yet).

She felt a little strange to crawl on all fours in front of Din only wearing panties and a short top, but when she looked back at him, he was staring at that spot on the wall again. 

She was lying flat on the floor now to search for the spider under his bed and when she finally switched on the flashlight, a small shadow, not much bigger than her thumbnail shooed out from under Din’s bed.

“Kriff” she hissed when she missed it narrowly with her boot and suddenly, everything went really fast. An untypically high-pitched scream escaped Din’s throat, she hit her head at his bed above her, another curse left her mouth, and when she finally managed to stand up, the little one had already caught the spider, stuffing it in his small mouth with relish. She hadn’t even noticed him before.

Din looked like he was about to pass out, staring at his son in horror.

“He… He ate it,” the Mandalorian spluttered bewildered.

“Yeah well, at least you don’t have to worry that the spider will eat you tonight” she yawned, realizing how tired she was.

Slowly Din relaxed again, breathing a few times “Thank you, Cara” he finally said, and Care forbore herself to make a mocking comment, she could see that this was already awkward enough for him. 

“Maybe we should go back to sleep” she suggested, putting the kid in his pram again, luckily, he didn’t give her a hard time and fell asleep right away.  
She was already about to go back to her bunk when she realized that he still hasn’t moved.

“Wanna sleep in my bunk?” she offered with a chuckle.

“Where there is one there could be more” he retorted explanatory and slightly embarrassed.

“Come on, you tin headed idiot,” she said while shoving him gently to her bunk. “I sleep on the floor, so if there’s another spider it’ll eat me first” she mumbled, yawning again.  
She could practically see the wheels turning in his head, it clearly wasn’t an option for him to let her sleep on the floor, but he also didn’t dare to sleep on the floor himself or at his own bunk, just in case that there actually was another spider.

“We could sleep in your bed together” he carefully suggests.

“You trying to hit on me, Djarin?” she said playfully shocked

“I… I…” 

“I’m just kidding, come on, idiot,” she said finally releasing him from his stammer.

She lets herself sink on the mattress crawling under her still slightly warm blanket, holding it up, welcoming him to lay down.

“How can a Mandalorian like you be afraid of spiders?” she asked chuckling but still with honest interest.

“Isn’t everyone afraid of something?” he said pensively looking at her. She was unable to say something in response, entangled in her own fears for a moment until he switched off the flashlight.

She felt him lift his torso a little followed by a dull clacking noise.

“Did you just…” she paused

“It’s not really comfortable to sleep in that thing” he explained “and you can’t see me, right?” She felt him turn to his side, looking in her direction. 

“No, I can’t see you” she answered lamely, even though she knew it was meant to be a rhetorical question. “But what if I forget about it, what if I switch on the light because I forget about it?”

“You won’t forget about it.” he answered calmly. 

How could he be so sure?

“Can I touch your face?” the words slipped out before she even knew she would say them _‘Damn it, Cara. So much for not messing this up because of your stupid feelings’_ she silently cursed herself.

He didn’t answer, and she was just about to apologize for even asking when she felt him take her hand (how did he even know where her hand was laying? It was pitch black around them)

He took her hand and suddenly, she felt the soft skin of his cheek, here and there covered with coarse hair. She turned to him, slightly lifting her torso, so she could reach his face better.

Her hands were almost trembling a little bit when she let them slip over his face, over his defined cheekbones to his eyebrows and finally down to his soft and full lips. This felt more intimate that everything she had ever experienced before. Why would he let her do this?

She knew she should stop, knew that this should have never happened and that there under no circumstance could be happening even more than this, and yet she caressed his lower lip with her thumb, slightly parting his lips.  
She could hear him inhale sharply and had to focus on her own breathing to hide her affection. She could feel his breath on her face, warm and fast. Almost involuntarily she buried one of her hands in his tousled hair, her other hand still hovering over his lips. 

_‘This can never happen’_ she reminded herself in her thoughts. But why did it feel so good then? Why was kissing him all she could think of right now? Why didn’t he stop her?  
She leaned over to him even more, before she finally managed to escape his ban.  
Her breathing still intermittent she let herself sink onto her back again, staring into the dark and trying to calm down her breathing, while listening to his also labored breathing. For what felt like an eternity they just lay there, staring holes into the ceiling, trapped in their thoughts.

A silent tear escaped the corner of her eye, she messed it up just like she always did.

All of a sudden, she felt him move. Carefully leaning over her, he burrows his one hand in her hair the other one gently caressing her cheek. She held her breath, felt like her heart could just stop any moment, by the unbearable tension between them.  
His lips were faintly slipping over hers, barely touching them. Did he even know what he was doing to her?

“Thank you for being there for me” he whispered finally reclining himself

“Always” she mumbled, still trapped in the haze of their tension, another tear rolling down her cheek.  
She messed it up just like she always did but this time it wasn’t what she had done, it was what she had barred herself from.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this and as always I am grateful for every comment, whether it's positive or negative :)


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